Essex mother, son plead guilty in drug case

A mother and son pleaded guilty today in state court to getting prescriptions for painkillers filled at pharmacies and then supplying them to a Newark-based drug ring that resold the pills on the street.

State prosecutors will recommend Stephanie "Sara" McLucas, 54, of Maplewood, serve 12 years in prison as part of a deal in which she pleaded guilty to racketeering and failure to file state tax returns. Her son, Jason Edwin Allen Jr., 27, of Newark, faces seven years on a racketeering charge.

The two admitted in court to acting as "runners" for the ring and using false names to get prescriptions for painkillers filled at various pharmacies, said the state Division of Criminal Justice.

Prosecutors say the ring was run by used-car dealer Mohamed Hassanain, 41, of West Orange, and fueled by prescriptions written by Dr. Mario Comesanas, 51, of Livingston. Comesanas pleaded guilty in March to racketeering and distribution of narcotics after writing thousands of fraudulent prescriptions for the ring. Hassanain maintains his innocence.